by J. R. Knoll
"Will do, Sir."
The Captain's eyes slid to Zoe and he asked, "You going to be helping us out tomorrow?"
With a little shrug, she replied, "I guess so."
"Outstanding," the Captain commended. "Just stay close to Sergeant Tex here and he'll take care of you. Okay, kids, dismissed. Good hunting tomorrow, Sergeant."
"Thank you, Sir," Tex offered before he turned smartly and strode from the room.
Zoe waggled her fingers at the Captain and bade, "Bye," before she turned and followed the big soldier out of the room.
They walked to the stairs in silence for a few moments, then she finally looked up at him and asked, "How am I going to help?"
He glanced at her and smiled, assuring, "Oh, we have some plans for you, Princess, but when the shooting starts I'm going to want you right beside me, okay?"
She smiled and shrugged her shoulders up, looking forward again as she mumbled, "Yes, Sir."
CHAPTER 5
Morning found the assembly area abuzz with activity and ten soldiers and eight civilians prepared weapons and made adjustments to packs and body armor as they prepared to leave on the rescue mission that all hoped would go as planned.
Zoe, following her morning routines as best as circumstances would allow, was the last to arrive. Back in her shorts, her pink tee shirt with Princess in glitter across the front and her new pink running shoes, she seemed alert and excited as she bounded down the last of the stairs and seemed to dance into the middle of the assembly area as she searched for Sergeant Morris.
"Okay, people," Tex shouted, "listen up!"
Activity and talking ceased and Zoe stopped where she was, turning to see him near the front door of the hospital.
"We're going right out the front door today. Volunteers, you'll follow the two fire teams closely and then get to your designated vehicles. If we make contact with any moaners out there then shoot for the head. Do not waste ammo. There is a gas station about a mile from here that we will be stopping at to fuel the trucks and buses. That area is not secure, so nobody is to leave any vehicle at any time without specific orders to do so. Just remember that this is a rescue mission and the safety of the people we are going after is our top priority. Those of us not driving are the diversionary strike, so let's make it count. Drivers, a hundred people are counting on you to get them to safety. You are all also under orders to get back here alive and not infected. Look out for each other out there." He clapped his hands together. "Okay, let's move out!"
As he stood at the door and watched his troops pass by him, slapping shoulders as they went by, Zoe hurried to him and was the last one he saw coming.
"There you are," he barked as he set his fists on his hips. "You ready to rock, Princess?"
She saluted as best she could and smartly replied, "Yes, Sir!"
Everyone boarded their respective vehicles, engines roared to life and the Stryker led the way as the convoy of four lumbered down the street toward their first objective. Tex sat in the passenger's seat of the Stryker with his weapon ready and aimed out the window, and Zoe sat cross legged between the two seats on the floor of the assault vehicle.
In only a few moments the convoy stopped with the Stryker pulling up on one side of the pumps and the first bus on the other side. The gas station was not a large one and was many years old, but the lights were still on, the pumps appeared to still work and the small store stood open and abandoned.
"Okay," Sergeant Morris said absently as he stared outside. "Here's where the fun begins." He got up and carefully stepped around the girl on the floor as he made his way to the back where his men waited. "Okay," he ordered as he looked them over, "We're going to have to do this fast. I'm going to want to establish a perimeter first, then we'll…" He trailed off as he heard the Stryker door close, and he raised his chin as he grumbled, "Somebody just went outside, didn't they?" He turned to see the driver standing behind him and looking over his shoulder.
Zoe was gone.
"Christ," Tex growled as he pushed past the driver and went back to the cab. Looking out the window, he saw her standing by the pump and looking it over as if she was trying to figure out how to work it. "Zoe!" he called in a low, impatient voice. When she turned and looked to him, he snapped in that low voice, "What are you doing?"
"I'm going to put gas in the truck," she informed. "Daddy showed me how so I can fill up everything and everybody can stay on the truck."
He glanced around, then he looked back to her.
"The zombies don't bother me," she informed.
Tex huffed a breath, knowing that she was right, then he nodded and ordered, "Give a shout if you see anything coming."
She nodded and turned back to the pump.
Closing the door, Sergeant Morris slouched in his seat, just staring out the windshield as the driver sat back down. His eyes slid that way and he found the driver staring at him.
Raising his brow, the driver asked, "Maybe we should have her check the oil and clean the windshield while she's out there. By the way, does she know to put diesel in this thing and not gasoline?"
Tex's eyes widened. As he turned and grasped the door handle, he flinched as he saw the zombie girl staring at him through the open window and he yelled, "Jesus!" as he fell back into his seat.
Zoe just blinked, then she glanced at the driver before saying, "Um, it wants a credit card."
Sergeant Morris blew a deep breath out through pursed lips, then he looked to the girl and ordered, "Go into the store and look for the pump control. It should be behind the counter near the cash register."
She nodded and confirmed, "Okay, I think I can find it," then she hopped down from the machine and ran toward the store.
Tex watched as she ran into the store, and he shook his head. She held her elbows in and swung her hands back and forth as she ran, just like any girl her age would do. But for her gray skin, there was no other way to tell she was actually a zombie.
The driver was leaning forward, also watching the girl, and as he settled back into his seat he asked, "So, do you know when she turns eighteen?"
Morris looked to him with a low brow and barked, "What's wrong with you?"
"Oh, come on, Sarge," the driver scoffed. "Don't tell me you've looked at that body and not thought about it. Moaner or not, she's got a hot little figure."
"She's an autistic kid," Tex informed with harsh words.
"I have Asperger's Syndrome," Zoe corrected from the window.
Startled again, Sergeant Morris yelled, "Son of a bitch!" as he swung his head back to the window.
Zoe's head flinched back and she informed, "There are a lot of buttons to turn on in there."
Tex drew another deep breath and asked, "Are any of them labeled?"
"Just by numbers," she replied.
He nodded. "Okay, just turn them all on."
She nodded again, then hopped down and ran back into the store.
The driver stared at him for a few long seconds, then, "So, you've never thought about it."
"Shut the hell up, man," Morris growled.
"Want me to warn you next time she's coming?" the driver asked.
"If you wouldn't mind," he snarled.
"She's back."
"Anyone want a soda?" Zoe barked. "The cooler is full of soda and stuff."
"I'll have one," the driver replied. Looking behind him, he called out, "Anybody want something to drink? Zombie girl's buying."
"Zoe," Tex began in a voice that sounded like his patience was strained. "Are we pumping gas yet?"
"No," she answered. "One of the guys said I should put diesel in because gas won't work in these."
Just staring ahead of him, Sergeant Morris nodded in slight motions and commended, "Okay, that's good."
"Do you want me to bring you something?" she asked.
"Sure," was his soft spoken reply.
"I tell you what," the driver added, "just bring whatever you can find in there. I'm sure we can use it."
"Bring some beer!" someone in the back shouted.
The radio sounded with a man's voice calling, "Shuttle One to Stryker One."
Sergeant Morris grabbed the microphone and held it to his mouth, saying, "Go ahead, Shuttle One."
"We have contact," Shuttle One informed. "One coming at us from across the street."
"Not good," he grumbled, leaning forward to look around the driver, who also looked out his window.
"There he is," the driver reported.
"There's never just one," Tex informed in a low voice. Raising the microphone to his mouth again, he said, "Attention convoy. Nobody move. Stay in your vehicles." He opened his door and leaned out of the Stryker. "Zoe! Get in the truck!"
She seemed confused as she looked up at him. Hearing something move behind her, she spun around, her eyes widening as another zombie staggered from the other side of the small store. A gasp rushed into her open mouth as he looked right at her, and kept coming.
"Zoe," Tex hissed. "Get in here!"
Zoe's steps were hesitant as she backed toward him, her eyes locked on the approaching zombie. Slowly, she turned keeping her attention on the zombie until she had turned fully, and she gingerly grasped the edge of the door and looked up at the Sergeant. As he extended his hand to her, she slowly closed the door, pushing hard against it until the latch clicked. Her gaze locked on Morris', she backed away, then turned toward the pumps, toward the approaching nightmare.
The zombie moaned a deep, unholy moan as he bore down on her.
With a step to the side, Zoe moved out of the way and got but a look as the zombie staggered right past her. Another entered her field of vision, then another, both from right in front of the Stryker.
"Christ," Sergeant Morris growled, clicking the safety of his weapon off. "They're all around us."
Another came from the other side of the store, this one approaching the bus.
Zoe was afraid, but she was quick to observe that the zombies were not interested in her. She heard moans from others and her eyes darted about as she saw one after another. Then she noticed something and her eyes narrowed slightly. They were not breathing as they had when they were alive; they were more sniffing, smelling for something.
Looking up to Sergeant Morris, she called to him, "Tex, roll the windows up. They can smell you!"
He nodded, then got on the radio and ordered, "Everyone seal your vehicles. Secure all windows and doors and then remain perfectly still. We do not want to bring down a firefight with all of this fuel being pumped all over the place.
A moment later, after another dozen zombies could be seen approaching from across the street and in behind them, the pump clicked and shut off and Zoe reached to the nozzle and removed it, then she screwed the cap back into place and walked with the nozzle to the bus. It's fuel cap was clearly marked with a red sticker that read DIESEL FUEL ONLY and she unscrewed the cap and inserted the nozzle, pulling the valve trigger back to fill the tanks.
Looking to the Stryker, she could see Tex staring at her, and she glanced at the bus behind it and motioned for the armored vehicle to move forward.
Morris nodded, then he looked to his driver and ordered, "Move us up about fifty feet." As the driver started the engine, he wheeled around and looked to the men behind him, ordering, "Get ready to get some. Zoe's out there alone and if anything starts to happen I want every moaner out there dropped. Just watch your fire and don't hit our friendly!"
Men nodded and weapons were loudly readied for action.
A few minutes later the first bus was full and she pulled the nozzle out, turning toward the second one. The fuel cap was not to be found and she turned and looked over the other bus. Swallowing hard, she realized that the filler cap was on the other side. As the first bus moved forward and the box truck pulled in behind it, she turned the cap off of its exposed fuel tank and set the nozzle in to fill it, then she turned to the other bus, trotting around to the window of the door. The driver could see her and she said loudly to him, "You put the gas in from the other side!"
He nodded and started the engine, and slowly the big bus began to back up.
By now, zombies had surrounded the Stryker and the first bus, and they began to push against them, some beating on them with their palms as if trying to force their way in.
This only increased Zoe's anxiety and her chest heaved as she drew horrified breaths into her. With trembling hands, she removed the nozzle from the truck and struggled to get the cap back on. She backed away as it roared to life and watched it roll slowly forward. Turning her attention to the second bus, she waited anxiously as it moved into position, then she fought her trembling hands to get the cap screwed off and insert the nozzle. As fuel began to pump into the tank, she looked to the other trucks and bus as the zombies began to mob all around them. It was a horrifying scene and the bus and truck were actually rocking back and forth as the zombies pushed against them. Others were climbing up onto the Stryker. They knew people were in there and were relentless in their efforts to get to them. Hearing glass break, she looked to the bus she was filling up, and a breath shrieked into her as she saw a zombie had climbed up onto one of the bus's tires and was reaching in through a broken window.
The last bus seemed to take forever to fill, but finally the pump clicked off and she grabbed the nozzle, pulling it out and turning the cap back on, then she turned and carefully put the nozzle back into place. When she turned to the waiting vehicles, she drew another gasp as she saw them rolling away from her. Trotting after them, she waved her hand and shouted, "Wait! Wait for me!"
The Stryker unexpectedly turned hard to the right onto another road. All of the zombies were following, many of them at a rather quick pace, some running, all of them moaning and some seemed to be yelling as they pursued their fleeing quarry.
"William!" she screamed as she watched the Stryker disappear behind a building. She stopped where she was and watched as the buses and truck, now in a single file line, continued their slow retreat from the gas station. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she begged in a whimper, "Don't leave me." Broken breaths entered her as the last bus grew smaller and smaller, still rocked by the attacking zombies, and more were coming from the buildings and alleys to join them. She was so distressed, so distraught that she did not hear the engine that approached from behind until it roared from less than fifty feet away.
Spinning around as she finally heard it, her field of vision filled with the image of the Stryker as it sped around the gas pumps in a hard turn, knocking a parked truck out of its way as it rampaged over the curb and back onto the road. Frozen where she was, she could only watch it come right at her like some charging beast from her worst nightmares. It veered to one side and the engine suddenly slowed, and the passenger door flew open when it was right beside her.
Hanging out of the Stryker and holding onto a handle on the side with one hand, Sergeant Morris held his other hand to the girl and shouted, "Come on, Princess!"
She took his hand, but his grip found her forearm and wrist and she was pulled from where she was standing and into the vehicle by this big, powerful man. Before she realized, she had settled across his lap and was looking down at the floorboard between the seats and the weapon that lay ready on it.
Tex swept his hand under her shins and bent her legs back, then he closed the door and shouted, "Go! Go! Go!"
The engine roared again and the Stryker charged forward, and Zoe fought to remain where she was and not tumble to the floor.
Looking over to the girl who was draped over the Sergeant's lap, the driver glanced out the windshield before turning his attention to Tex and asking, "So, you never thought about it, huh?"
"Would you shut the hell up and drive?" Sergeant Morris shouted.
Zoe looked up at the driver to see his attention now fully ahead of him, and he had a smile on his face. With her hands on the floor for balance, she asked through the bumpy ride, "Thought about what?" The Sergeant's hand slid around her shoulder, turn
ed her and pulled her upright, and she found herself sitting neatly in his lap. Sliding a hand around his neck, she looked into his eyes and breathed, "I knew you wouldn't just leave me there."
He nodded and assured, "No way, Princess. Okay, I need you to get down and hand me my weapon, and you might want to cover your ears. It's about to get all kinds of loud in here."
With a nod, Zoe swung her feet down to the floorboard and between his, then she climbed down between the seats, took his weapon and handed it to him.
Tex took his weapon and aimed it out the window, then he looked over his shoulder and shouted to the men in the back, "Show time! Evans, get up to the Ma Deuce and watch your fire. Do not fire into the bus or trucks!"
"On it, Sarge!" one of the men assured.
Grasping the backs of the seats, Zoe rose up on her knees and could see they were nearly on top of the bus in the rear. Zombies had climbed all over it and others still gave chase and pounded it with their palms. Still more were attacking the truck and the first bus and she feared the worst as the buses and trucks began to slow.
Sergeant Morris took careful aim, then shouted, "Let 'em have it!"
The crack of weapons split through the confined interior of the Stryker and Zoe dropped back down and covered her ears. The sharp cracks and pops of M-16s and M-4s were joined by hellish blasts from the big .50 caliber machine guns on top of the attack vehicle. The noise was horrific and she could feel her senses overloading. She bent forward over her legs, tensing up little by little as the firefight continued. Something had escaped her that morning, some part of her morning ritual that had been forgotten, and here in this nightmare of ear splitting sounds she finally realized she had forgotten her medication in her rush to join the soldiers.
Her senses and emotions were on overload and she trembled and screamed against the noise that overwhelmed her.
It seemed to go on forever.
At some point, she could only hear the sound of the engine, felt the beast tremble as it rumbled down the deserted road. Slowly, she raised her head, her eyes wide as she glanced about, and she hesitantly lowered her hands from her ears.
